Children’s Obesity Fund Founders Respond to Recent Study Confirming Carbohydrate Addiction
Beverly Hills, California (PRWEB) July 19, 2013 -- Food, unlike narcotics or alcohol, is necessary for survival. How, then, can one type of food be classified as addictive? CBS News recently reported on a new study conducted by Dr. David Ludwig, director of the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at Boston Children's Hospital which indicates that foods high in processed carbohydrates trigger the same neurological response as narcotics, alcohol and gambling.
“If it was only the act of eating that people found difficult to control, obesity, heart disease and type 2 diabetes wouldn’t be as endemic as they are, since people would be just as likely to binge on vegetables and fruits as they are on chips and cookies,” says Dr. Michael Omidi, co-founder of the Children’s Obesity Fund. “It’s the processed carbs that trigger pleasure center responses, which are exactly what people crave, and what people with these health conditions should avoid.”
The study reported the MRI scans of 12 obese men after being given one high glycemic milkshake suffused with carbohydrates, and one without. After consuming the milkshake with the additional carbs, the men registered heightened activity in the same part of the brain that is activated after drug use.
“There is no easy solution to this phenomenon of food addiction, just like there is no easy solution to addictions of any kind,” says Julian Omidi, Children’s Obesity Fund co-founder. “The best we can do is keep broadcasting the latest health information, and make the public aware that what they’re doing to their bodies – if their diet consists mainly of processed, fatty foods – isn’t much better than the consumption of controlled substances, from a health perspective.”
Co-founded by Julian Omidi and Dr. Michael Omidi, the Children’s Obesity Fund (http://www.childrensobesityfund.org) hopes to help reverse the trend of rising obesity rates in America. The goal of the non-profit charity is to help people fully understand the obesity issue and its dire impacts on individuals and society as a whole -- and to use that knowledge to encourage children to grow up strong and healthy. Children’s Obesity Fund partners with other organizations to educate and support parents, educators and others so that we can all work together to raise healthy, active, social, and happy children. While the organization does not accept donations, it does encourage direct contributions of money and talents to the associations featured on our website. Children’s Obesity Fund is on Facebook as well as Google+, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Media Relations, Children's Obesity Fund, http://www.childrensobesityfund.org/, 855-550-3200, [email protected]
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